For more source material about the early days of the Institute, check out our Archive.

THE IDEA WAS BORN.....1963-1972

In 1963, the American Psychiatric Association recommended that the mental health needs of the citizens of Florida and supporting state resources could be better served by providing mental health facilities in major urban areas, including Tampa.

By 1967, the Florida Legislature provided funds for the planning and construction of a mental health facility on approximately 43 acres on the University of South Florida campus of Tampa.   The facility was planned as a regional facility as a complement to Florida state hospitals and the comprehensive community mental health centers. (Chapter 67-334, Laws of Florida).

Senator Louis A. de la Parte worked hard to ensure a commitment to mental health funding in 1970, He also was able to expand the role of the Institute as a provider of outpatient services for those who cannot afford treatment.

The Research and Training Institute's objectives were identified as

1. To train mental health professionals and non-professionals for the State of Florida,
   
2. To provide treatment facilities for the mentally and emotionally disturbed people of Florida of all ages,
3. To provide a consultation services to local and State public and non-profit agencies of the County involved with the problems of mental health,
4. To serve as a facility for research into the cause, care, and treatment of mental illness and to develop new approaches to meet new and ever growing complex problems in living.

The first phase was to be a comprehensive treatment complex with inpatient and outpatient care, partial hospitalization, emergency care, community consultation and education, activity programs, and clinical and diagnostic areas.

On January 20, 1971, E. Arthur Larson, M.D., Deputy Director for Hospitals and Institutes, presented the request for the budget, architectural design, and the Institute's service approach to the Legislature. The Florida Mental Health Institute at Tampa for Training and Research in Mental Health is the recommended name submitted by E. Arthur Larson, M.D., Deputy Director for Hospitals and Institutes.

According to Chapter 71-267, Florida Statutes, [naming of state facilities], E. Arthur Larson and W.D. Rogers forwarded the name to the Division of Archives, History and Records Management's director, Senator Robert Williams. The name recommendation also went to Chester Blakemore, Executive Director of the Department of General Services and to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services, Emmett S. Roberts. Secretary Roberts recommended the name be shortened to The Florida Mental Health Institute. That name was submitted to the Cabinet and approved. Askew's signature formalized the Institute's existence.

BREAKING GROUND...1973-1974
The sixteen million dollar facility is under construction, with completion and acceptance of its first phase on or due before March 1974. This phase includes the main building which contained space for ten residential projects of thirty-two persons each, the Learning Resources Center (Library), classrooms, and service support systems (eight buildings total). The initial two residential programs are the Children's Program and the Aging Program. The first is concerned with the treatment and evaluation of severely emotionally disturbed children. The treatment model is based on an expansion of the re-education model with newly designed methods and techniques. The second program centers around the evaluation and assessment of the elderly person in order to provide optimal biopsychosocial rehabilitation.

View the official mission description of the Institute written by its first director, John Ainslie, M.D.

UP AND RUNNING....1975-1979

1975 sees the beginnings of the Children's Residential Demonstration Project, a Hyperactivity Clinic, the Adult Alternative Project, Gerontology Project, and the Early Intervention Project. Collaborative projects were being done with the Hillsborough START Center, the Senior Resource Center Program of the Hillsborough County Hospital and Welfare Board, the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, and HRS District Program Offices.

Involvement with the University of South Florida increases with medical students from the College of Medicine, undergraduate and graduate students from the Schools of Psychology, Special Education, Social Work, and Rehabilitation Counseling. Students from other state universities were doing internships and practica at the Institute. The Director of the Institute was supervising the HRS District VI Mental Health Program Office in order to implement treatment techniques that the Institute had found to be most effective.

The Institute continues its research into psycho-social rehabilitation and its development of training materials and programs. The first performance assessment of the Institute included a request for the development of an annual training plan for FMHI consistent with statewide priorities, preparation of specific training activities, an annual program of student interns at FMHI, and collaboration between the University of South Florida and FMHI for mental health training grant acquisition.

Dr. John Lott Brown, University of South Florida President, indicates that the University "is committed to the development of a more productive and mutually beneficial relationship between FMHI and the University."

PART OF THE UNIVERSITY OF SOUTH FLORIDA ....the 1980s

In 1981, the Florida Legislature transfers the Florida Mental Health Institute from the Department of Health and Rehabilitative Services to the University of South Florida. In order to enhance the Institute's research and training capabilities, the Institute becomes a University training/service/research institution but still is accountable to the Legislature's Senate and House Appropriations Committees. (Chapter 81-206, Laws of Florida; Chapter 82-215, Laws of Florida). The FMHI mission statement is to be determined by the Legislature based on the staff report from the House Higher Education Committee and the pending USF-HRS agreement.

In 1983, the University underscored that FMHI's mission is its research and training, i.e., the Institute will engage in applied research, and that its research and training programs will be built upon a core of service provided within its walls and under the direction of FMHI staff. HB 1153 establishes the Florida Mental Health Institute within the University of South Florida and defines as its purpose the strengthening of mental health services throughout the state of Florida by providing technical assistance and support services to mental health agencies and mental health professionals. (Chapter 83-195, Laws of Florida; Section 240.514, Florida Statutes)

The Research and Training Center for Children's Mental Health Services (RTCCMH) is initiated in 1984 to address the need for improved services for these children and adolescents and their families.

By the mid-1980s, FMHI had concluded a statewide training and research needs assessment to assess the needs of Florida's mental health system and to use the assessment findings as a guide in planning its research and training activities. Issues of concern to respondents included dual diagnosis, interagency collaboration, and cross-program training. Other areas included financing of mental health services, accountability and program evaluation, management information systems, legal issues, and diagnosis and assessment.

In 1987, FMHI is operationalized as a college within the University of South Florida, contract and grant activity grows from $129,216 in 1982-83 to $2,110,954 in 1986-87.

Policy papers include Toward a Florida State Plan for Autism, Florida Adolescent and Child Treatment Study, Mental Health Services for the Elderly, Psychiatric Services within Florida Health Maintenance Organizations, National Study of State-supported Psychiatric/Mental Health Research Institutes, and Improving Florida's Services for the Mentally Ill. That same year, the Florida Legislature, through proviso language, mandated a Task Force be established to make recommendation to maximize the FMHI as a state resource. Louis A. de la Parte is appointed Chair of the Committee.

In 1989, FMHI is requested by the Legislature to be a member of the Study Commission on Child Welfare to review the statutes on child welfare to determine if the law effectively protects children.

	The Florida Kids Count Project is initiated in the Department of Child and Family Studies at FMHI.
CARD	The Center for Autism and Related Disabilities is established at four university sites, one being FMHI/USF.
	The University of South Florida Center for HIV Education and Research is established in the Department of Community Mental Health at FMHI.

CONTINUED EMPHASIS ON POLICY, HONORING AN OLD FRIEND ... the 1990s

Senator de la Parte and the Task Force found that the "mission statement of FMHI with its strong emphasis on the improvement of Florida's public mental health system is appropriate and of value to the citizens of Florida". It recommends that

• FMHI provide the state with a biennial report on the assessment and analysis of the state of mental health training needs in Florida,
• that FMHI serve as a clearinghouse for the gathering and dissemination of innovative ideas and projects,
• that FMHI conduct applied and basic research with primary emphasis on applied research directed toward identified state needs; the primary focus of FMHI's research to be for the purpose of developing new or innovative programs on behalf of the state's social service, criminal justice/law enforcement, and education systems.

University of South Florida President Francis T. Borkowski commends FMHI for its extensive contribution to the university and its role in influencing research and public policy in Florida. "FMHI is one of the crown jewels in the USF constellation."

From 1991 to 1995, FMHI becomes increasingly more involved with policy issues in the state. It is requested by the Legislature to help revise Florida's civil commitment law (the Baker Act) to be addressed in the 1996 legislative session. FMHI faculty are appointed to the State Steering Committee on Managed Behavioral Healthcare by the Legislature. FMHI is requested to evaluate Florida's prepaid mental health plan for the Agency for Health Care Administration

Work also begins with the Florida Inter-University Consortium for Child and Family Studies on a five-year longitudinal study on the relations between family violence and child abuse and juvenile crime, criminal behavior, and school behavior problems; the request is initiated by the House Select Committee on Child Abuse and Neglect. [About the Consortium] [Report on Violence]

FMHI begins work on evaluating the effectiveness of state-supported behavioral healthcare services for adults and children in District 6. The Department of Children and Family Services (formerly HRS)/Alcohol, Drug Abuse, and Mental Health (ADM) adopts two measures developed by FMHI as statewide performance indicators for the state's performance-based budgeting requirements. [Statewide Outcomes Project]

In 1996, the Florida Legislature honors fomer senator Louis A. de la Parte for his lifelong commitment to bettering the quality of life for the citizens of the state of Florida and his involvement with mental health services delivery by naming the Florida Mental Health Institute after him.

A preliminary study for Senator John Grant focuses on the issue of mental health parity and its impact upon the state of Florida. The initial report, Mental Health Parity: National and State Perspectives: a Report, is submitted to the Legislature for consideration in implementing parity for mental health services. [Parity Reports]

The Homelessness Prevention Project is funded by a SAMHSA knowledge development project to prevent homelessness in high-risk populations.

The Institute offers its own courses at the University of South Florida.

Researchers at the University of South Florida’s Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute are awarded a five-year, $3 million grant to establish a national Rehabilitation Research and Training Center (RRTC) on Positive Behavioral Support.   [News Release].

The ending of a century, the beginning of a new millennium...2000s

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